Chicago vs. the video game cover curse

June 26, 2012|RedEye

EA Sports may have found the best time to put a player on a video game cover. The company announced Tuesday that Derrick Rose, who is recovering from knee surgery and may not play until the middle of next season, will be on the cover of "NBA 2K13."

Does that mean the Bulls superstar will be immune to the "cover curse" that seems to befall so many athletes? Bulls fans can only hope so. As for the L.A. Clippers' Blake Griffin and Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, who share the "2K13" cover with Rose, they're probably crossing their fingers as we speak.

Rose joins other high-profile Chicago athletes who've scored video game cover honors. Here's how they fared in the season during which they were featured.

Brian Urlacher

"NFL 2K3"

Other than failing to intercept a pass or recover a fumble, the Bears middle linebacker was solid in 2003. Urlacher collected 88 tackles and earned a spot in the Pro Bowl. Not that any curse is dumb enough to mess with Urlacher, anyway.

Luol Deng

"NBA Live 09" (in U.K. and Ireland)

Bad luck seemed to follow the Bulls forward across the pond in 2008-09. Deng played only 49 games because of an injury and put up just 14.1 points per contest, one of the lower scoring averages of his career.

Patrick Kane

"NHL 10"

This is the ultimate slap in the face to cover curses. Not only did the Hawks win the Stanley Cup in 2009-10, but Kaner racked up 30 goals and 58 assists in the regular season and scored the winning goal in overtime in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals. Take that, superstition!

Jonathan Toews

"NHL 11"

The Blackhawks captain totaled career highs in assists (44) and points (76) in 2010-11, so it's pretty safe to say any bad mojo passed him by. Unless it was delayed until 2011-12, when he missed 23 games with injuries that included a concussion. Are curses getting smarter?

Michael Jordan

"NBA 2K11"

His Airness had been out of the league a while when he graced the cover of this game, and the move certainly didn't help the Charlotte Bobcats, the team he co-owns. They finished 34-48 in 2010-11 and missed the playoffs. On second thought, that's normal for that team.